


Learning to talk, learning to love

by Azamir



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Bondage, Kink Exploration, Kink Negotiation, Kinktober, Kinktober 2019, M/M, Mentions of Rape, Mentions of Suicide, Mpreg, sex therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 09:21:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20905313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azamir/pseuds/Azamir
Summary: The war is over, and to seal it, paladin Keith offers himself as a possible omega bride to newly crowned King Lotor. Lotor accepts. They learn to move with each otheer, to navigate the Galra court, to love. And they learn how to breed.This is a consensual relationship fic, any mentioned rape or non-con is not between Lotor and Keith and not part of the main story timeline.People (= Keith and Lotor) who have learned very rigid gender norms explore their sexuality and learn to let go of gender stereotypes, one baby step after the other. Also, they learn to let go of the misconception (hah!) that conception (duh!) is merely dependent upon the „female“ body / the uterus. Stressed males have bad sperm, so no pregnancy. Keep that in mind.This is a Kinktober-fic. Heed the warnings.





	Learning to talk, learning to love

**Author's Note:**

> The idea was for them to use a breeding bench, because that kink sprung at me in a list of kinks. Then plot happened, too much of it. So instead of one leisurely evening, I wrote three days, and here we are. 
> 
> I love any kind of feedback. Also, I love consensual Keitor. Point me in the direction anytime.

Their wedding had been a political decision, a move to support a peace that had been very tentative with just a treaty. Even though King Lotor didn’t want to continue the war his father had started, there were still councillors and generals who did. They felt that the treaty gave too many rights to the defeated Kingdom of Voltrona.

In Voltrona, many were afraid that the treaty would break, and that their loved ones would have to gather to fight again. They had fought to stay independent from the Galra expansion, though they had known that they would never be in any position to vanquish the vastly bigger and stronger country. The entire war effort of Voltrona had been aimed at being too much effort to conquer. It had worked, especially after the valiant effort of the five Paladins, who managed to kill the King of Galra in battle. 

The Galra heir, Lotor, had neither his father’s hunger for conquest nor the desire to spend more men and resources on the recalcitrant country of Voltrona. So, the treaty came to be. When the treaty was just short of breaking, Voltrona offered the marriage. 

Lotor accepted. 

So, Keith, the omega paladin who had been part of the five paladins who took down Zarkon, was given as a bride to King Lotor.

Keith had been part of the guard that had escorted Queen Allura of Voltrona, so he had seen Lotor before his engagement, but when the decision was made, he had never actually talked to the monarch. He had agreed out of duty, and partially because he knew that the one he had set his heart on years before would forever be out of his reach. He knew that he would have to marry and bear pups, though he had rebelled against this so much as a teenager. The war had changed his mind on a lot of things, though, and when the Queen and her council had talked about a marriage, he had offered himself. 

The Queen had been surprised, but he was of noble blood, an omega, a virgin and of marriageable age. She had still sought to obtain offers from a few other families for their children, not wanting to pressure Keith as the only option, and also showing the Galra that they would take Lotor’s possible preferences into account. 

They probably needn’t have gone to such lengths, Lotor accepted without fuss. 

The wedding was highly ritualistic, and there were several instances when Keith had to reign in his temper, as there were many rituals that focused a tad too much on how the Omega was beneath their Alpha, how the Omega was to serve and not question, how the Alpha was the ruler and master. 

Keith reminded himself of his duty and the lives he probably saved by obeying the rule of his new master. Lotor also didn’t strike him as a violent man, otherwise he would most probably not have stopped the war so immediately after coming into power. 

Keith had still thanked all the gods that the ritual of public consummation had been abandoned for several generations. He probably couldn’t have stood the humiliation - he had read far too detailed reports of how in historical marriages, every moan and drop of slick was noticed and catalogued by the witnesses. 

The consummation had been far more tender than he had anticipated, even expected. Lotor was reserved, almost stoic in his demeanor at court and in public, so it came as a surprise to Keith that he was not only nice, but gentle and affectionate in the bedroom. 

Keith, having been a ward of the royal household for much of his life, since his parents had both died when he was young, had been taken aside by Lady Holt before the wedding, who had briefed him on marital duties - of which Keith had known much more than the Lady had thought he did, though he had only read about it in theory. He was a proper virgin. It was a world of difference to actually be in bed with his Alpha husband. Neither the books nor the instructions of Lady Holt really prepared him for the first time Lotor breached him, though there was no pain, as Lotor had taken his sweet time with his fingers first. 

Keith had looked into the face of his husband, whom he had only spoken to for the first time the day prior, and it was strange, but he trusted him. Maybe it was foolish, but then, trusting the man he would live with for the rest of his life, who’s pups he would bear, was better than the alternative. 

When Lotor took Keith’s cock in his hand, pumping him to pleasurable heights, Keith lost focus of his thoughts, until he moaned at his release. He felt the shudders travel through his body, and then he felt Lotor’s cock twitch inside him and he knew that the Alpha must have released as well.

Lotor sank down upon Keith and hugged him close, kissing Keith’s ear as he did. 

„My dear husband, I would say we have successfully consummated our marriage.“ He said it with humor, and Keith had to laugh. He hadn’t expected Lotor to be funny, he hadn’t expected the bedroom to be a place humor could be present.  
Lotor gave him another kiss on the cheek. Then he yawned, and soon, they had both fallen asleep.

Keith got used to Lotor surprisingly quickly. He had expected the forced closeness of their marriage to be oppressive, but it was comfortable. Lotor greeted Keith with gentle caresses, but he rarely stopped him from going where and when he wanted.  
Keith’s „duties“ at the Galra court were a far bigger problem - the expectation towards the omega husband of the King was to organize the staff and keep track of the household, but Keith had no training in any such tasks. He had been a warrior in Voltrona, he knew a little bit about supply lines for military purposes, but he had absolutely no clue how to arrange the seating order of the court members so that nobody was offended or wanted to kill their seat neighbor. 

When Lotor was made aware of the Keith’s struggle with the court duties, he began teaching Keith about his court, and the duties expected of the omega husband. Keith once asked him how he knew so much about it, and Lotor gave him a surprising answer: He had been small as a child, and his Governess had originally suspected that he would present as omega. So, in his early years, he had been regarded as a disappointment by his Alpha father and taught omega household skills. When he had had a sudden growth spurt at 13, and presented as Alpha at 14, he had been thrown into warrior training late. Lotor confessed that he still preferred reading to fighting, though he had grown proficient enough that his court and military respected him for his skills. 

With Lotor’s help, Keith slowly got on top of everything. They also established their own routines - sparring together, seeking out each other’s opinions on the day’s questions before going to bed. The changes and busy schedules wore them out, so they only had sex once or twice a week. But this way, they both wanted it and nobody felt as if it was their duty. 

However, when Keith’s second and third heat after their marriage had passed without signs of pregnancy, the court began to grow restless. Keith got asked about his sex life in some subtle and some not so subtle ways by the Ladies and omega husbands of the court, the questions becoming even more frequent when he sidestepped them at first. So, when he admitted to having an enjoyable sex life with his Alpha husband, thank you very much, someone started a rumor about him being infertile. 

It got to Lotor first, who told Keith of it one evening, treating it as a joke. Keith couldn’t laugh, because his fifth heat had come and gone the previous week, and he felt no different, and he had heard many different symptoms of early pregnancy from the Ladies and omegas. He was pretty sure he exhibited none of them, which would mean that Lotor’s seed hadn’t taken, again. 

Keith didn’t want to fret and worry, but in his belly the suspicion grew that he might not ever be able to conceive Lotor’s pups. And far beyond all courtly organizing, it was his duty to bear pups, and if he was unable to do so, it might even put the treaty at risk, again. 

When Keith didn’t laugh at Lotor’s remark upon the silly court rumor of his infertility, Lotor showed that incredible awareness of Keith’s moods, that always made Keith’s heart skip a beat. 

„Darling, did I say something wrong?“  
They didn’t keep secrets, they spoke bluntly, so Keith didn’t beat around the bush.  
„Lotor, we’ve been married near half a year, and I’ve passed 5 heats without a pregnancy to show for them. What if it’s not a rumor, but true, and I’m unable to conceive?“  
„Oh. Well. I’m not worried yet, I can assure you. I’ve known many a couple who took their sweet time to conceive. If we were talking years, I would share your worry, but for now, I have every faith that you will carry my pups.“  
„That’s all nice and sweet of you, dear husband, but the court is growing restless without a pregnancy. What if the warmongers among your generals take this as opportunity to revoke the treaty?“  
„I see your point, Keith. However, a pregnancy will come when it will come. It’s not something that can be forced, only… aided, maybe.“  
„Aided?“ Keith had thought that sex during a heat was all that was needed for a pregnancy, and they had had that, during all of his heats since the marriage.  
Lotor made a pinched face, then he stood up to pace.  
„I care for you, which is why I keep you in our bed during your heat, and I love seeing your face during sex, so i take you from the front, Keith. There are other ways to have sex, and many believe that they are… more beneficial to conception, but they all come at the expense of the omega’s comfort.“  
„You mean, you should take me from behind, like Lady Holt told me would be appropriate for our wedding consummation?“  
„That is part of it, because it would allow me to go deeper, and stay inside you longer with my knot fully formed. But among the court physicians, they also trade stories of how an omega needs to be bred properly, in utter submission, to have the strongest pups. And the way they do that, I don’t want that for you, Keith. It’s degrading, I wouldn’t want to suffer that, so I won’t ask it of you.“  
„Then we will not do it their way. But… we can try with you taking me from behind It is said to be common enough, and some of the Ladies have said that they like it quite a lot better than from the front.“  
Lotor nodded. „If you want to try, I am with you. If you don’t like it, don’t hesitate to ask me to stop.“  
Keith stood up and leaned up to his husband for a kiss, before whispering to his husband’s ear: „Take me, husband, so I might see how I like it.“

Lotor led Keith to their bed without further ado, pulling at the laces of Keith’s clothes on the way there. He was bared piece by piece under the tender hands of his husband, who fought off Keith’s hands when he wanted to do the same. „Lie on the bed for me, darling, and I’ll make it good for you“, he breathed into Keith's ear, and Keith lay down on the bed, knowing that Lotor made a good show of undressing himself when he was in the mood.  
Lotor moved his body in an unheard rhythm while he slowly but surely removed ever article of clothing he wore, and Keith really did enjoy it a lot. The way Lotor’s back muscles stretched when he pulled off his shirt, the way he bent over graciously when he pulled off his pants. Keith had moved his hand to his cock, slowly stroking, not in any hurry to please himself, merely tease to heighten his enjoyment. 

When Lotor was naked, he winked at Keith before prowling onto the beg like a tiger, coming to kneel over Keith, who had let himself fall into the bedding beneath his husband. They kissed, then Lotor began teasing Keith’s nipples, while Keith moved his hands over Lotor’s back, along the strong muscles in his shoulders, stroking aimlessly over the well-known body above him. 

Lotor moved his ministrations between Keith’s legs after a while, pushing two fingers into his wet entrance, spreading the slick over his outer folds, stroking Keith’s cock with his other hand at the same time. The combined sensations pulled a loud moan from Keith, who soon moved his body ti meet Lotor’s hands, pushing against the hand on his cock as well as towards the fingers inside him. 

Just as Keith was starting to lose focus, Lotor’s hands left him, to grip at his hips instead. „Turn around, if you still want, darling“, his husband mouthed into his ear, and Keith complied, turning onto his belly and pushing himself up on his elbows and knees to look back at his husband once he was turned. 

Lotor looked at him as well, softly stroking over Keiths backside. „Are you comfortable?“  
Keith adjusted his position a little, then he nodded. „I’m fine. Are you?“  
Lotor laughed a little. „Yes, I’m fine too, darling. So, let’s get you ready, hm?“  
Keith already felt pretty ready, but he knew Lotor loved to take his time with his hands inside Keith before actually fucking into him, and he knew that this fact was what had made their wedding night enjoyable and kept him from being very sore after sex, so he had no complaints.  
Lotor’s fingers were back inside Keith within a moment, and Keith felt how the angle was a little different like this. When Lotor added a third finger and started pumping Keith’s cock again, he knew that soon he would feel his husband’s cock inside him again. 

Lotor pulled out his fingers and positioned himself above Keith, then he breached his entrance with his cock, slow and steady. Keith felt his cock go deeper and deeper, until his husband’s balls were pressed against him, and he understood that this way, he really could go deeper than before. It didn’t hurt, but it was more intense, it felt just a tad bit closer than their usual sex. 

„Still fine?“, was the question whispered to his ear, and Keith moaned a breathy „Yesssssss!“ in answer, and thus, Lotor began to move, starting to really fuck into Keith.  
It really was more intense, and the way Lotor’s balls slapped against Keith was another interesting detail, one of many that Keith evaluated while he enjoyed them.  
When Lotor took up stimulating Keith’s cock again, it only took a few more thrusts and the double stimulation sent Keith over the edge, his cock pumping the translucent omega spunk onto the bedding, while his body tightened around Lotor’s cock. 

Lotor followed him with a groan, letting go of Keith’s cock and pumping his seed deep into Keith with a few last thrusts. Without the heat smell to trigger Lotor’s rut, there was no knot, but it was still intense. Lotor hugged Keith from behind, nuzzling into Keith’s neck once he didn’t ant quite so much from his release anymore. 

He slipped out of Keith and turned him around, Keith following his prompting lazily. „So, did you like it?“, Lotor asked. Keith was often amazed how Lotor could be this coherent and focused so soon after sex, while he himself was still half-dizzy with the aftershocks buzzing through his body.  
„Yes, dear my Alpha husband, I liked it quite well. Maybe we should try out more things, because I really didn’t have the feeling that you disliked it.“  
„If you want to try out more things, we can, darling. Whatever you are comfortable with.“  
„Ask me again tomorrow. Now, I want to sleep.“

And so they did. 

They explored a few different positions over the next weeks, and with comparison, Keith actually did like being taken from behind a lot. He liked seeing Lotor’s expressions when they were face to face, but the depth of Lotor inside him was most exhilarating when he was on his knees and Lotor was caught in his passion until he forgot to be careful, thrusting deeply into Keith. Some other positions proved to be interesting, but overall not that enjoyable for both of them, and when Keith’s next heat came around, they agreed that Keith would be taken from behind for the full duration of his heat, making Lotor’s knot go as deep as possible. 

When Keith felt the fevered mood come upon him in the afternoon, he sent a servant for Lotor and waited for him in the bedroom, stripped down to just a shirt already. When Lotor came in, Keith unceremoniously threw the shirt off and lay himself down in the most wanton pose he could imagine. His heat-smell was coming on strong, and Lotor gave a growl in response, hastily stripping and then joining Keith on the bed. 

Their first round was hasty in comparison to their usual sex, but when Lotor’s knot swelled deep inside Keith, deeper than he had ever felt it before, he felt good and hopeful.  
Driven by Lotor’s rut and Keiths’s heat, they followed the first round with three more until it was late at night and they fell asleep. The next morning, they continued after a hasty breakfast, Keith feeling Lotor’s knot another five times until his heat died down again around noon. 

They slept until the afternoon, both very satisfied. As Lotor’s rut tended to last a little longer than Keith’s heat, they had a last bout of sex that afternoon, and without his heat to make him pliant and wanton, Lotor’s knot was intense and challenging to take, but Keith wouldn’t have it any other way. They took their dinner in bed, lounging naked and feeding each other pieces of meat and bread, until they slept again. 

In the following days, Keith was giddy with excitement. He felt confident about his heat, about himself, and about a future with a pup growing inside of him. 

Two weeks after his heat, he went to the palace healer who was most consulted on pregnancies and birth, wishing to confirm a conception. 

However, the healer took a long time, with creased brows and feeling a lot of places on Keith’s body, until he shook his head.  
„I can’t confirm a pregnancy for now, prince consort Keith. It could be that you just don’t exhibit some of the signs, and if your next heat won’t come, it will be clear. But I’m not sure you have conceived, I’m sorry to say. 

Keith’s face fell. They had done everything right, hadn’t they? But if they had, why couldn’t he conceive? They wanted a pup, needed a pup, and Lotor had spilled his seed in Keith’s body ten times during his heat. Was that still not enough?

The healer seemed to understand Keith’s concern, so he tried to assuage his fears.  
„It’s entirely possible that you will miss your next heat. Then I will look at you again, all right? Please, prince consort Keith, don’t worry. You are healthy, and so is King Lotor. A pup will be in your future.“

Keith nodded, and tried to bury his worry, but his next heat came earlier than usual, and Lotor was outside the keep with one of his generals, and when Keith felt his heat come upon him, it took another three hours until Lotor was back at his side. 

Lotor sensed Keith’s fragile mood and tried his best to care for his husband, but neither of them could say that this heat was a great success. When his heat died down and Keith’s wantonness didn’t cloud his thoughts so much, he started crying. He had been so sure of the last heat, and now his bad mood had botched their next try as well. The had only managed three full couplings, and Lotor refused to fuck Keith even though his rut still held, saying that he couldn’t look into Keith’s tear-streaked face and stay aroused. 

Keith stayed abed the day after his heat, racking his brain for any clues on what he could do to finally ensure conception.  
When Lotor came to their rooms in the evening, he took one look at Keith and sighed. Keith tried making himself smaller, not wanting to be a burden to his husband. Lotor sighed again, then he sat down on the bed and pulled Keith into his arms. 

„You worry about being infertile again, don’t you, darling?“  
„Maybe you should start worrying along with me, dear husband! My previous heat was so good, and still I couldn’t conceive, this heat was a disaster. I feel so useless.“

„You are not useless!“ Lotor spoke with insistence.  
„You are smart and strong, Keith, and even if you never conceived any pup, I would never send you from my side. I agreed to marry YOU, not some omega who was a mere tool. I had seen you at the peace talks, and I asked around who you are right then. I couldn’t quite believe my luck when Queen Allura came to me with an offer to marry YOU. Of course I agreed to the marriage right away. You are the strong warrior omega who faced the enemy’s alpha King in battle, and bested him. I was impressed already when I first heard my father’s generals recount the battle against him. So, don’t believe, ever, that I will cats you aside, all right?“

Keith looked at Lotor with big eyes, and nodded. He had assumed that his husband had wanted the peace to hold most and foremost, but the way he told it, he had wanted Keith and had therefor agreed to the marriage. Keith, who had offered himself because he could never have his childhood crush Shiro, because Shiro was engaged to another omega and saw Keith as something like a little brother. 

„So, I recognize that we need a pup, the rumors have gotten louder recently, and I know that general Sendak is gauging the other general’s reactions if he attacks my marriage to you. But please, please, don’t feel useless. We can try more things, if it will make you feel better. I didn’t want to do that to you, but if it may help, it might still be the better alternative than you wilting away because of worry and court intrigue.“

Keith nodded again. „I… know you said it’s degrading, what the healers think is appropriate for breeding. But maybe… if you tell me I can get used to it beforehand and it won’t be quite so bad?“

Lotor sighed again.  
„You are strong, my darling Keith. I will tell you, and if you say you will try it, we can. But I will never ask or order it of you, and you can always stop it if you are uncomfortable.“  
„Thank you, Alpha.“, was the only appropriate answer Keith could muster. Lotor nodded, then he dragged Keith to lay down on the bed with him. 

„They are called breeding benches. It’s a kind of obscure furniture, and the omega is to bend over on top of it, then they are tied to if until they can’t move. Legs spread, torso down, so their opening is in full view. The hight can be adjusted so it’s at the right height for the Alpha. Some of the healers advise that the omega be additionally blindfolded and gagged, because they are supposed to only be a breeding vessel, and the vessel need not see or speak, it only needs to be bred.“  
Keith could hear from Lotor’s voice how disgusted he was with his, how little he shared the ideas of those who would tie up their omega to fuck it without regard.  
„We have several breeding benches in the keep. One of my generals offered one to me before the marriage, I declined. I have seen them in use, in my father’s reign. There were some generals who regularly invited the court to watch them as they fucked their bound and helpless omega. They delighted in leaving them bound even after the act was done, and it disgusted me. It is no way to treat a spouse. I never want that for you, Keith.“

Keith understood why Lotor was horrified by these practices, it sounded dreadfully degrading. But… being the prince consort who could not conceive was starting to become a horrifying experience in its own right. 

„Can we… try one of these breeding benches… privately? I don’t want people to watch, but if it could help, I would rather try it. And I know you would treat me fairly, care for me, they way you have done ever since we married. You are a good man, Lotor, and using a breeding bench will not change that, not for me.“  
Lotor looked into Keith’s eyes with surprise at these words, then a melancholy smile crossed his face.  
„You are a wonder, Keith. If you really want to try, I will have a breeding bench brought to our rooms. Then, if you really are willing, even after you have seen it, we can try.“  
„Have it brought. If it scares or disgusts me, we will have it taken away and never talk of it again. But being unable to bear your pups is already scaring me, husband, and I want to fulfill that duty for you, even if it takes a lot out of me. I want to bear your pups, I want to feel them move inside my belly, I will gladly bear the pain of birthing them. If we need to make use of a breeding bench to get there, I’m willing to try.“  
Lotor nodded, then he embraced Keith tightly. „My strong omega. You have surpassed all my expectations for this marriage, I hope you know. I don’t want to be without you, ever.“  
Keith caressed the few places on his husband’s body he could reach while held so tightly, and had to smile. „Me too, Lotor. I don’t want to lose you.“

The held each other for a long time that evening, until they fell asleep at last. The didn’t speak much, but there was no need right then, it was a shared silence that felt close. 

Right the next day, Lotor ordered for one of the breeding benches to be brought to their spare room. He obviously didn’t want it right in their bedroom, and Keith could understand that. If it sat right there next to their bed, it would always be a reminder. 

The bench was brought in just as Lotor had left to attend his day’s business, two strong footmen carrying it to the instructions of a serving maid. It was placed in the spare room, the footmen and the servant bowed to Keith as he looked on, then they were gone. 

Keith circled the obscure contraption. From Lotor’s description, he could make out how the oddly placed parts of it would be put to use, but it was still… odd. He had never seen anything alike, if it was used in Voltrona, it was a closely guarded bedroom secret that a virgin omega didn’t get to hear. 

After having gone around it several times, he stepped closer, touching it. The wood was smooth and lacquered to prevent any injury from splinters. Some parts were padded and upholstered in smooth, fine leather. At last, Keith mounted the bench. He bent over the raised middle, holding fast to the beams where his arms would be tied, with leather straps that were affixed to the beams. Then he put his knees on the padded platforms to the side… and he felt how his trousers were stressing at just how far his legs were supposed to go apart. But he understood that in this way, his husband would be able to stand between his legs comfortably, be able to move freely, fuck him deeply and keep his knot inside him at leisure. 

He lay himself onto the bench, arranging his limbs in the way they were supposed to go. His head was supported by a padded ring, from which leather straps hung as well, making it possible to immobilize even his head. His arms would go on angled beams parallel to his body, making them mostly useless. His torso was lower than his behind, giving him a slight sense of vertigo. It was not very comfortable, but he understood that it really offered the omega’s body to their alpha, submitting to the alpha’s every whim without being able to deny anything. 

He got down from the bench and sat himself on the floor next to it, thinking.  
Lotor was uncomfortable with any sexual practice that reduced Keith to nothing than his status as the inferior omega in the relationship. He was so much kinder than Keith had expected, and he grew to love his husband for it. Their marriage had been political, but their relationship was not. Keith had learned his way about the Galra court, had even made friends here. He had earned his place among these people, and they had grown to respect him. Some of the old generals, who had been in their position under Lotor’s father, were disregarding him still, but Keith had noticed that they also disregarded Lotor in a similar manner. They just couldn’t deal with the new order under King Lotor, wanting their old King and his reign back. But Zarkon was dead, and that was that. Keith knew that Lotor didn’t share their views, and though he kept from openly antagonizing them, he had worked steadily to supplant them with his own advisors and generals. 

Lotor was changing the court, and the people he put in power did not look down on an omega as much. But it was not changed yet, the old guard still had power. So, even if someday, nobody would dare to reduce Keith to his secondary gender, he still needed to contend with their views. He knew that the mere presence of the breeding bench would spark new rumors about him and Lotor, and he was sure that soon, some of the old guard would make comments to Lotor on how he dealt with his omega husband. And it might hurt Lotor to hear these assumptions, in a different way than it hurt Keith, but still it would hurt Lotor as well. Also, some of the old guard might see it as a sign that Lotor was more amenable to their opinions, to their views on how the kingdom as a whole should be run. 

But more than all of that, it was important for Keith to conceive. If the breeding bench would manage that, his own status at court would become stronger, possibly strong enough to make all lewd remarks towards him and Lotor stop. 

Keith would try this. The bench itself didn’t even scare him as much, having lain on in, he could see how he would be helpless, but he trusted Lotor to treat him tenderly, he had proven over and over to be worthy of Keith’s trust. 

In the evening, when Keith returned to their rooms from his own duties, Lotor was already there, which was a rare occurrence. Lotor seemed to have waited for Keith to arrive, he was on edge, so Keith didn’t hesitate and asked him head-on what he wanted to say. 

„They brought the bench. I… need to talk about this with you, Keith. I know we already talked, but seeing it… I need to know your thoughts, and you need to know mine.“  
Keith nodded, he had expected this. Though Lotor was far more upset than he had anticipated, he had come to know his husband as calm in all situations, that this was causing him this much distress was an exception. 

„I have seen it just as it was brought in. I lay down on it. I understand how it is supposed to degrade an omega.“  
Lotor looked even more upset at Keith’s words.  
„Keith, darling, we don’t have to do this. I’m sure, if we consult a midwife from the town or a healer from somewhere else, they can advise us as well. There have to be other ways.“  
„Lotor, dear husband, you are more frightened by this than I am.“  
At that, Lotor looked at Keith in surprise.  
„No, dear, husband, that was not a joke. I have lain myself on it, and though I understand how it is supposed to degrade an omega, to degrade me, I do not think it will do so. If it is you who will take me to that bench, I trust in your tenderness. You will not degrade me, so the bench is just a piece of furniture.“  
Lotor looked at Keith in wonder, then he looked to the window.  
„But… it’s horrible what they do to omegas with the bench.“  
His voice was muted, barely more than a whisper, and it spoke of a deep hurt. Keith sat down next to Lotor and encircled him in a hug, wanting to soothe his husband’s distress.  
„What did they do, Lotor, that made you so afraid of the bench?“  
Lotor swallowed, and Keith had the feeling that he swallowed tears.  
„When… I was young, just around the time I came of age, there was an omega girl I fancied myself in love with. She was the bastard child of one of the generals with one of the serving girls, but her father had acknowledged her, so she grew up among the noble kids. She had presented just a few months earlier, and though I had known her for longer, her new status charmed me in a new way.  
When I told my father that I would love to marry her, wanting him to support my offer to her father, he was furious. She was only a bastard, the child of a servant, and far beneath me as a prince, I would never marry someone lowborn. He forbid me from seeing her, and he forbid her from seeing me. Though I tried disobeying him, she didn’t dare. Possibly, she didn’t appreciate my feelings at all. I never knew. The few times after that I managed to see her, she fled upon seeing me. I was heartbroken, but my father was informed of my attempts to see her.  
He set out to teach me a lesson - on being an Alpha, on being a prince destined for rule, and on the place of a bastard omega.  
One of his generals had lost his omega husband to childbirth, and Narti - that was her name - was considered marriageable, as she had presented as an omega. She was maybe 16 years old. So my father basically ordered their marriage, the general was more than 20 years older than Narti. She was a bastard child, her father didn’t dare defy the king for her, she didn’t have anyone on her side. So the marriage was a done deal.  
My father ordered a public consummation. And since that general was of the old guard, and probably because my father had ordered it as well, they took Narti after the vows, bound and gagged her, ripped her clothes off and bound her to the breeding bench.“  
Lotor stopped at that, and Keith was sure that he fought against tears again. Keith lay a soothing hand against his husband’s back, but he didn’t dare interrupt. It was a horrible story, but he would not interrupt Lotor.  
„Someone gave the general something to trigger his rut. Narti was… raped. By her new husband, on her wedding day, on that breeding bench. My father forced me to watch it all. The men, they laughed at her muffled screams. Whenever I would look down or look away, my father would have his hand on my neck, forcing my head back to where he wanted me to watch. I will never forget her screams.“  
Keith knew that Lotor had started crying, his voice rough and broken. He had never seen his husband cry before, but he was near tears himself, the recount of that horrible day was just that gruesome.  
„She didn’t speak after that day. When they finally left her there, after she had stopped screaming for some time, I was finally allowed to leave as well. I wanted to flee from the keep, from my father, but I was afraid of what he would do to other people if I did. From that day, I prayed he would die to leave me and the kingdom alone.  
But Narti never spoke a word again. She had been cheeky when I knew her before, but her face was frozen, her gaze faraway and I never heard her voice again. Her general husband fell in the war. She killed herself soon after. They found out that she had been pregnant when she killed herself. She left no message, but nobody doubted her reasons.“  
Keith felt nauseated at the recount, and he felt Lotor’s loss in every broken word. 

„So you see her when you see the bench?“  
„I know that the bench was only the means to an end. It was her husband and my father who brutalized her and forced me to watch. But the memories, they come back, just in flashes, sometimes.“  
„I know those flashes. I used to get them from the war. Seeing my friends die, the moments came back to me in my dreams, and sometimes even when I was awake. We had a mind-healer at the Queen’s court, and she helped me. Do you know any mind-healers in Galra?“  
„I have heard of them, but the court healers always said they were charlatans, since they only talked to people and didn’t know any herbs.“  
„Our mind-healer knew some herbs as well, for the people who were sad and fatigued all the time. But mostly, she talked, and it helped.“  
„You think I should talk to a mind-healer?“  
„She told me that her talks only help if you are willing. So, it is your decision.“  
„Do you think… your Voltrona mind-healer would come here and see me?“  
„I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I saw her, and I don’t know if she cares for people she won’t leave in Voltrona. But you can write her and ask. She talks to everyone, she once said. So, she won’t refuse your letter, at least.“  
„I will try then. But… we still have our own problem on our hands, darling.“  
Lotor’s tears had run their course, and he returned to the sharp-minded man Keith had known most of the time in their marriage.  
„Yes. But if the bench reminds you of THAT, I will have it sent away and we will try any other way.“  
„But… if you send it away, the court will talk again. My father’s men are doing all the things you feared, Keith. They are talking, they are threatening to break the treaty if you continue to be „defective“, as they put it.“  
„We will try another way, Lotor. And until then, I will prove that I am strong, and that they cannot tear us apart.“

So, Lotor wrote his letter to the mind-healer and Keith had the breeding bench taken away that very same evening. The court’s rumor-mill went mad. When they had sex a fews days later, Lotor was so careful and sweet, Keith almost cried. That someone as evil as Zarkon could have gotten a son as gentle as Lotor was nearly a miracle. They had sex face to face again, and Keith knew that Lotor needed to see him, needed to see Keith’s face so the flashes couldn’t take him away from where he was. 

Days later, the returned letter from the mind-healer arrived. She told Lotor that she couldn’t leave her charges in Voltrona, but she had sent King Lotor’s request to a colleague who was from the same school as her and would welcome royal patronage. 

Another week later, the mind-healer arrived at the keep, and Lotor received him personally. The regular healers muttered among themselves, but they didn’t dare go against the King’s orders. 

Keith’s heat started a few days later, and it was not the utter disaster his last heat had been, but it was very tame. Keith just hoped for the best, Lotor’s wellbeing took precedence right now. 

After the first few talks with the mind-healer, Lotor woke Keith in the night, trashing from nightmares. Keith woke his husband in turn, and soothed him. The mind-healer had warned them both that this could happen, said it was part of the healing progress. However, Lotor couldn’t bring himself to touch Keith sexually for days. And Keith knew his next heat was coming up, and he had to admit - he would hate to have a heat on his own, now that he knew what a heat with his husband felt like. Being a fevered wanton when all you had was your own hands was not very enjoyable, especially once you had tasted the sweetness of a knot deep inside you. 

But just as Keith was worrying, the mind-healer approached him, if he was willing to help Lotor. Keith said yes before the mind-healer could even elaborate. 

So, Keith was invited to the next talk Lotor had with the mind-healer. The mind-healer let Lotor do the talking, because, as he said, he was there to help Lotor find solutions that they could include in their life, not invent some mock solution that wouldn’t work for them.  
So, Lotor said that he was afraid of hurting Keith during sex, and that he needed Keith to be more verbal, since he could never be really sure if a moan was from lust or pain. 

Keith understood, but he also knew that once he got into the blissed-out state that Lotor was so excellent at putting him into, he had real trouble forming words, much less sentences. He said as much. The mind-healer smiled, Lotor was embarrassed. 

So, the mind-healer talked to them both about establishing unmistakeable messages. He told them of a language of hand-signs and many other ways that didn’t need full words and sentences. They talked about what they needed to say when they had sex. No and Yes were easy, but besides that? They came up with slow and fast, messages for pain and feeling all right. 

The night after their talk with the mind-healer, Lotor took Keith to bed again. Keith felt elated. 

Keith didn’t share every one of Lotor’s talks with the mind-healer, but they made it a regular thing. They mostly talked about sex, and Keith had to overcome a lot of shyness. Lotor was his husband, they had discovered each other over months, and now suddenly Keith was asked to talk about it with a near stranger… but he made himself talk, for Lotor’s sake and a solution that might still help himself conceive. 

His next heat came, and with their new signals established, Lotor held back less, though he did want Keith’s reassurance a lot of the time. Keith enjoyed the fevered hours under his husband a lot, and he still held hope for conception. 

After their heat, the mind-healer made them talk about it. It was even more embarrassing, but it helped Lotor understand that Keith really did enjoy it when Lotor took him hard and fast, caught in his rut. 

Keith had noticed that Lotor’s nightmares had died down again, and he was far less troubled after the talks he had with the mind-healer than at the beginning. But the court was getting ever more out of hand. It was nearing a year since their marriage, and no pregnancy was in sight. The whole court somehow knew how they had called for and then immediately rejected the breeding bench. And now Lotor spent many hours in his week with a mind-healer. Some of the ladies and omegas started avoiding Keith, and he was told at some point that they thought him a witch. He denied his husband children, yet he still managed to keep him in his bed: To them it must be witchcraft. Keith told them in no uncertain terms that he was very much trying to become pregnant, and that if there was witchcraft at work, it was against him. Some of the ladies and omegas believed him, others didn’t. His power as prince consort was as fragile as ever. 

Lotor rarely talked about court intrigue these days, but when he did, he sounded more tired of it than ever. They were a united front, and that was something that the court hadn’t expected in this situation. The old guard that wanted the war back had thought that without an heir, they could bring Lotor to abandon his „infertile“ omega quickly. Everyone expected the couple to be broken apart by Keith’s failure to conceive, assumed that they would hate each other. But just as their open talks from the very beginning, the talks with the mind-healer brought them closer together. They didn’t contradict each other to the court. So, the court didn’t know how to attack. Anyone who moved against Keith was in danger of incurring the King’s wrath, and nobody dared move against Lotor himself. He had already proven to be a smart ruler, and he had removed enough of his father’s oldest allies from the court that the remaining didn’t dare move openly. 

One evening, Keith came to their rooms and was swept up into the arms of his husband just as he was beyond the threshold. „Hello, my darling!“, he was greeted, and he had to laugh at Lotor’s open joy. „To what do I owe this wonderful greeting?“, he had to ask.  
„It has been exactly one year that I got the offer to marry you, my darling. You have made my life so much better with it, so I am thanking you for it today.“  
Keith laughed again. „Why, thank you as well, dear husband! I never expected marriage to be the way it is between us, with so much joy. And you have made me a very happy man. Maybe we should thank each other?“  
Lotor enthusiastically agreed. They ate together and spent the rest of the evening in bed, caressing and enjoying each other’s body. When Keith felt Lotor rouse for a second round, he felt his husband grab him and turn them - until Lotor lay underneath him.  
„What is this, dear husband? Don’t you want to enjoy me again?“  
Lotor looked up at him and said: „I very much want to enjoy you. But… the mind-healer gave me an idea. Why don’t you try being on top of me, controlling how much of me you want?“  
Keith looked at Lotor with wide eyes. He had never entertained the idea before, but… of course. 

They struggled a little until Keith had successfully guided Lotor’s cock inside him, but the feeling was… different, again. And it was quite a bit of work, moving himself while Lotor lay beneath him, but he did so gladly. He really saw how every move he made let signs of pleasure bloom on Lotor’s face, and they enjoyed their climax close after each other. 

They slept afterwards, and when they had the next joint talk with the mind-healer, they told him of their new experience.  
He congratulated them on it and suggested they try out more things. Keith and Lotor looked at each other, a little bit at a loss.  
„Like… what?“, Keith asked at last.  
„I have met people who have enjoyed their sex with crafted cocks made of wood or metal or ceramics. I have met people who enjoyed having their nipples pinched or being spanked. Anything you can think of, try it out.“  
Keith and Lotor looked at each other, and Keith knew that some of the things he had in mind would take a LOT of convincing. Because, unwittingly, his thought drifted to being bound in rope, unmoving, while his husband held him tight and fucked him hard. 

Lotor came up with the idea of using their mouths on each other. Keith choked on his first try at taking his husband’s cock, and Lotor war very reluctant to let him try again after that. But Keith had learned how to convince Lotor of his enjoyment, and it got steadily easier as Lotor learned to overcome his own hesitancy and trust in Keith’s assessments. 

Keith brought a bundle of ropes to their next bedroom session - and tied up his husband. Then he rode his cock, and afterwards, in the face of Lotor’s clear enjoyment, he demanded to be tied up himself. Lotor didn’t stand a chance arguing against this, so he obliged. Keith loved it. The ropes on his ankles, spreading him open on the bed, his hands held above his head, it was glorious. 

However, their other problem remained - Keith still hadn’t conceived, and his next heat was only a few days away. His thought had drifted back to the breeding bench time and again, and at last, he talked to the min-healer on his own.  
„Did he tell you about what happened to his youthful crush? The girl he fell for when he was just of age?“  
„Yes, we have spoken of it in length. It is one of the reasons why I brought you into our talks, because he needs to address his issues about what an omega wants from sex. But why do you bring it up now?“  
„I need to conceive. And the healers believe that the breeding bench is the best way to do it. After what happened, he couldn’t look at it, using it with me was out of the question. But… we are married for nearly a year, and we have spent every heat together, to no avail. Every further month without my belly growing round with his pup might be the time it takes for someone at court to snap and do something that could hurt me, him or the peace treaty with Voltrona. So. I’m willing to try the bench, now more than ever, but… I fear what even telling him might cause. I don’t want him to go back to his nightmares.“  
„I have talked to him of it at length. I think he has overcome many of the feelings that made him have the nightmares - part of it was what was happening to his omega sweetheart, but part of it was how his own will was violated, how he was forced to watch. I think he has overcome a lot of the feelings caused by his father forcing him to watch, and we are on a good path to overcome his hesitancy regarding sex with an omega. Your enthusiastic way of enjoying nearly everything you two have done got him a long way on that road. If you really think you need to broach the topic of the breeding bench… maybe we should do it together.“  
„You think it’s fine to introduce the breeding bench? Even though it’s connected to so many bad memories?“  
„It’s only one thing, though he has made it to be at the core of his memory. But especially because of that, it might help him overcome that memory if he came to be at peace with the breeding bench.“  
„Okay. So, how do we do this?“  
„We will need a breeding bench.“

Keith and the mind-healer agreed that it would be a bad idea for the court’s rumor-mill if Keith let the breeding bench be brought into the mind-healer’s room, so he just reminded the servants that the mind-healer was a valued guest and therefor should be treated with the utmost courtesy. Then the mind-healer asked for a breeding bench. Though the servants were bewildered, seeing as the mind-healer had no omega, they obliged. 

Keith came to the mind-healer’s room early before their next talk and saw the bench in the corner of the room, hidden from plain view by a blanket. As they had discussed, he sat himself down o the bench with the blanket, treating it like an ordinary piece of furniture.

When Lotor came in, he didn’t quite notice the bench at first. They started the talk with telling the mind-healer of their day’s events so far. After Lotor had finished his part and Keith began to speak, Lotor just followed his words, at first. Then, Keith saw how Lotor’s gaze took in Keith’s unfamiliar seat, and Keith knew the exact moment Lotor realized just what his husband sat upon. 

Keith stopped speaking. The mind-healer had noticed as well, and he didn’t waste their time. „Lotor, we have a difficult topic to tackle today. Keith brought it up and I agreed that we would address it. Do you want the blanket to remain where it is, or should we take the blanket off to have a closer look?“  
„I would rather all the things were destroyed, so I never have to gaze upon them ever again.“  
„I’ll take this as you wish for the blanket to remain were it is.“  
Lotor took his eyes off the bench, looking at the mind-healer with a hard gaze. „If it must stay, yes, I don’t want to look at it.“  
Keith deliberately made himself more comfortable on top of the bench. It wasn’t all that easy, it was not exactly meant for sitting on like this, but he made do. This was about him challenging Lotor’s way of looking at the bench.  
„That is okay for now, Lotor. But we must talk about it at least.“  
Lotor almost pouted, but he didn’t object.  
„So, what do you think of the breeding bench?“  
„It’s a tool to degrade and hurt an omega, used by cruel men. I don’t want to be a cruel man, and I don’t want to hurt and degrade omegas, so I don’t want to use it.“  
„But a tool is neutral, isn’t it? It is used by the wielder - a knife can be used to hurt, or to prepare a meal. At the same time, the softest piece of fabric can be used to kill a man. The wielder decides, what use he is putting the tool to.“  
„With ordinary tools, the wielder has that possibility. But there are other tools. They are only meant to hurt, and the bench is one of them.“  
Keith lay himself over the bench, going for lascivious. He let his legs fall open and arched his back over the downward slope of the bench, always a bit weary of falling down the sides. But needs must. He felt Lotor’s gaze upon himself.  
„Keith, I would rather you didn’t sit on the bench.“, soon came the stiff instruction of his husband. Keith slowly moved back into a sitting position, and looked at Lotor with fluttering lashes. „But why, husband? It’s not hurting me like this, it’s even padded.“  
Lotor had a very pinched look on his face, but Keith couldn’t have mercy just yet.  
„It’s a bench, I will just sit on it while we talk. Nothing bad will happen while we talk, will it?“  
Lotor looked away, obviously running out of arguments.  
The mind healer took that opportunity to speak up again.  
„Keith told me he doesn’t think the bench is inherently evil.“  
Lotor focused his gaze on the mind-healer.  
„Keith never saw it used as I did.“  
„No, I didn’t dear husband. But you say it yourself: it was used. By people. Different people. I have studied the bench, i have lain upon it. It didn’t frighten me by itself, it can’t frighten me by itself, because it is a tool that can be used for evil, but it can also be used for good.“  
„Nothing good will ever com from it.“  
„What if I felt lust upon it, would that still be evil? What if it actually was the key to letting me conceive? It is not evil, if we don’t use it evilly.“  
Lotor looked to Keith, then down to the floor, then he hid his face in his hands. From between them, his voice was muffled.  
„What do you want me to say, Keith? I want to have a pup with you, you know I do. But why must the key be the breeding bench? Why can’t we find something else?“  
„Lotor, my husband, we have tried nearly everything else we could think of. Yet still, my womb is empty, and… maybe it has to be the bench. Maybe that night of torture laid a curse on you, and that curse needs to be broken in order for us to be happy. And we have not tried this one thing yet, and I think we should.“  
Lotor looked at Keith, and Keith saw tracks of tears on his husband’s face. This situation had become intense so fast, and he longed to soothe his husband. And so he did, getting up from the bench and wrapping his husband in an embrace.  
„Lotor, I want you to be the King you should be, not having to fight off a court that will doubt your abilities because I have not conceived. I want the treaty to hold. And I want to give you the pups you deserve. So, can you bear to look at the bench, and let me help you overcome it?“  
That is what Keith had settled on with the mind-healer. They needed to get Lotor to at least look at the bench today. Face his fear, so he might overcome it.  
Lotor had wrapped Keith in an embrace in turn, hiding his face in his omega’s shoulder. „You really think it is ok? It is meant to hurt you, and you are willing to look at it with me?“  
„Yes, Lotor. We’re in this together, we will face this together. I’m your omega, I’m your support, so you can be great. Let’s face this.“  
After a few moments of hesitation, Lotor let Keith out of his embrace and moved to stand up. Keith moved with him, and at last, they crossed the room to stand in front of the breeding bench. 

Keith moved to take of the blanket, Lotor next to him, unmoving. When the blanket was off, Keith took Lotor’s hand in his own.  
„It’s just a piece of furniture.“  
The bench was just as it had been the previous time that Keith had seen it, sturdy leather and wood. He felt Lotor’s tension as he looked it over, really looking at the bench. But his husband didn’t flinch away, he faced his fear, and Keith was proud of him.  
„You… lay down on it before, you said?“, Lotor asked with a low voice.  
„Yes. It’s a bit weird, but not all that uncomfortable. There is padding, and it does feel… sexual. And all my sexual feelings are connected to you, and you feel safe, dear husband. So… I never felt unsafe.“  
Lotor looked at Keith as he spoke, then he looked back to the bench. He took a step closer, to Keith’s surprise.  
Then Lotor did something even more unexpected - he got onto the bench himself. Keith followed his movements with wide eyes - he had never seen his husband splayed out in that manner, even though he was still fully clothed. Lotor was an Alpha, he didn’t… get fucked. That was what the Omega was for, after all.  
Kieth looked to the mind-healer for guidance, but the man just smiled and waved for Keith to just… keep doing what he did. So Keith moved to Lotor, squatting down next to his face, so they could talk.  
„So, how does it feel for you?“  
„Degrading. The way the legs are spread… it’s uncomfortable. And I’m not even tied down, I can barely see anything but the floor.“  
„I spread my legs further when we fuck face to face, dear husband. And I have to hold them up when we do that, which can be bothersome after a while, I can tell you. And… I like it when you tie me down. You know it’s true, and you didn’t mind it yourself. The bench is not that different from the things we have already done.“  
Lotor seemed to process that. Then, he moved to get off the bench again.  
„You… really feel that. You really don’t mind it.“  
Keith nodded. „I would gladly lay down on the bench for you, Lotor. If only to show you that it doesn’t bother me. Will it be fine if I show you?“ He looked into Lotor’s eyes as he asked, needing eye contact to let his husband know that he offered this freely, of sound mind.  
Hesitantly, Lotor nodded.  
Keith slowly got into position to mount the bench himself. He only let go of Lotor’s hands for a short time, then he took one back as soon as we lay on the bench. It was meant as an anchor to keep Lotor in the present.  
„I think I could lay here comfortably for quite some time. Only, it would probably get boring soon, because while the position is slightly arousing, I can’t do much by myself like this.“  
Lotor’s hand was tense in Keith’s.  
„Then you might want to just get off the bench?“, he asked.  
„No, I think I’d rather try how long it stays comfortable for me. Will you caress me and talk to me, husband?“  
Lotor obliged. Keith began recounting his day’s events, which had been interrupted before, and after some time, Lotor began to relax enough so they held a comfortable conversation, close to how they would do it in the evenings.  
The mind-healer was a silent presence in the back, he didn’t interrupt them.  
After they ran out of topics, Lotor was calm, and Keith still far from being uncomfortable on the bench. „I think I could probably stay here for another hour or more. But then I would really get bored.“  
Lotor squeezed Keith’s hand, acknowledging his words.  
„I understand. And… you don’t have to prove it to me, Keith. Will you come down now? We have already spent longer here than our usual talks, and… I think we both still have other duties to attend to.“  
Keith moved to get off the bench, and embraced Lotor afterwards. „Thank you for facing this, husband. Thank you for being here with me.“  
Lotor kissed him. And Keith had to label the past hour or so as a thorough success. 

Two days later, they had another talk with the mind-healer, and this time, Keith mounted the bench right at the beginning, and didn’t leave it until they were done. Lotor’s period of unease had been far shorter, and when Keith had asked to be caressed while lying on the bench, Lotor had obliged him.  
Keith had the bench transported to their spare room again that same evening, without telling Lotor about it. He waited for Lotor naked underneath a light robe that could be tossed aside within a heartbeat. When Lotor came back, he kissed him right through the door.  
„Dear husband, I want to try something new with you. I want you to try for at least a quarter hour, if you say you still want to stop after that, I will oblige, but no sooner, ok?“  
Lotor nodded, then Keith let his robe fall to the floor. He helped Lotor out of his boots and Jacket, then, he led him to the spare room. 

Lotor froze upon the sight of the bench, but Keith tugged him further, casually climbing upon the bench, naked as we was.  
„You promised me 15 minutes to try, husband. So, please, have a good look at me, spread out on the bench. I’m not tied, I can move whenever I want. I’m here of my own will, and I would very much love for you to have sex with me on this bench. I know you might not be comfortable with the idea for today, but I want to say it, and I want you to consider it. Look at me, look at my hole, spread for you, wanting you.“  
Keith felt himself grow wet, talking like this, trying to seduce his husband. Lotor was a restrained lover most of the time, but Kieth had managed to make him wild a few times already. He would have to make Lotor wild again to get him to fuck Keith on the bench, so he would try his very best.  
Keith fidgeted on the bench, but his range of mobility was severely limited, by design. Still, he trusted that his bottom was moving enticingly enough, with his naked and glistening hole in full view. His cock was half-hard, but the bench didn’t offer any friction, and he couldn’t reach it with his hand because of the bench.  
After a few minutes, Lotor caved. Keith heard him move, then Lotor’s hands began to stroke his back and backside, caressing him with firm touches. Keith moaned, loving the stimulation, even though it was still far from where he wanted to be touched the most.  
Lotor stroked him all over, then his hands moved to Keith’s cock and hole. Keith moaned at the first touch, then again and again when Lotor pushed into him with his fingers and stroked his cock. Keith was soon overcome by bliss, and he came on the floor beneath the bench, moaning all the while. Lotor still had his fingers inside him, and Keith wiggled his bum to get Lotor to continue moving, of better even, fuck him. Then he remembered their signs, and raised his hand for the sign that they had established for „faster“ or „more“.  
Lotor stopped entirely, and asked: „Are you sure, darling?“ and Keith moaned a breathy „yes, while keeping the sign up.  
Then Lotor’s fingers vanished, he heard clothes rustling, and then, he hadn’t expected it to happen already, this night, Lotor’s cock was at his hole. His husband was hard, and then he was inside him, and Keith moaned again. The angle was even more intense than when Lotor took him from behind on their bed. When Lotor was deep inside him, Keith felt him more intensely than ever before.  
He heard Lotor’s breathy gasps behind him, and then Lotor moved, and it was wonderful. Lotor’s hands moved over Keith’s back, his shoulders, caressing his hair, never really focussing on anything. The thrusts were powerful, Lotor was standing on the ground and could move from his legs and hips and full body. Still, he never hurt Keith. After many strong and wonderful thrusts, Lotor moaned and spent himself deep inside Keith, who felt himself spasm around his husband in response. 

Lotor lay his body on top of Keith’s, but got up again soon after, pulling out carefully. Keith was exhausted, but he got up from the bench with Lotor.  
„Thank you, dear husband. It felt so good for me.“ He needed to reassure Lotor, before any questions came up.  
„I know, darling. I know when you are enthusiastic, and you were. And… it felt good for me too. You were right, it is only a tool, and I see how it can give you pleasure… maybe… Maybe we should try with the bench for your next heat. But I want to start you in our bed, where it’s warm and cozy.“  
Keith’s eyes lit up. „Yes, please, Lotor, dear husband. Please, fuck me on the bench for my next heat.“  
Lotor kissed him, and said: „Everything for you, my love.“

Keith’s next heat started in the middle of the night. He had gone to bed with a weird sense of premonition, and he woke a few hours later, feverish and wanton. He turned to his husband, rutting against him in his want, and soon Lotor was awake, laughing at the antics of his heat-driven omega. „Okay, okay, darling, my love, let me wake up properly. I’ll make it good for you, I promise. Here, turn over, lay on your back, spread you legs. Fine, just like that.“ Soon, Keith had fingers in him and a mouth on his cock, and it alleviated some of the heated frenzy, but not enough. He knew that only the knot made the frenzy go down for a while. So he begged for his alpha’s knot, and soon, Lotor was buried deep inside him, and the knot swelled inside him, and it was bliss. As Lotor’s knot had gone down again, Keith was able to form a few more coherent thoughts, and the bench came back to him.  
„Lotor, my alpha… can we move to the breeding bench for the next round?“  
Lotor yawned. „Oh my dearest wanton omega, do you think we could try sleeping a few more hours and continue in the morning? It is literally the middle of the night.“  
„But… I want you, alpha. I want your cock, your knot, deep and hard.“  
Lotor growled at that, the clear want getting his rut instincts riled up. „You win, my little omega. I will fuck you deep and hard again, until you think of nothing but my knot.“  
He pushed his hard cock back into Keith’s hole, and they had a short but intense second round in their bed. After that, they were both tired enough to sleep. 

In the early morning hours, they both woke up ready for more. Lotor had the presence of mind to get a servant to heat up the spare room, and fast, while he carried his omega over to the bench and laid him down on top of it. Then, he hesitated. „Is this really what you want, my love?“  
Keith gave the sign for „yes“ and answered verbally to support it.  
„Yes, my alpha, my husband. And It would be even better if you would tie me down, at least my legs. Then you can give me all your powerful thrusts, and I’m here to take them, all of them, until everything is bliss!“  
Lotor stroked over his back and legs, then he actually took the leather straps and bound Keith’s legs to the breeding bench. Keith’s heart beat faster, and he felt his arousal heighten even further.  
The Heated bricks that the servants had plied in the corners of the room had managed to get it to a comfortable temperature, the fire cackling behind them maintaining it. Keith relaxed himself on the bench. His legs were spread and bound, his husband’s presence behind him, his hole wet with slick. He felt the frenzy of heat return, and he made the sign for „more“, even though he wasn’t sure that Lotor was looking. But his husband was, and just like that, he felt Lotor’s cock breach him, and sink deep. Keith moaned, and he he didn’t stop, enjoying every thrust, and when Lotor’s knot swelled deep inside him, the pressure was so intense, Keith almost felt it in his neck, and he moaned all through it. He felt the twitches of Lotor’s release so deep and intense, and the knot was so hard and there and Keith almost couldn’t breathe from how much it was.  
Only Lotor’s worried voice brought him back to some coherence, and he signaled that he was fine, though he couldn’t speak at all in that moment. Lotor hadn’t moved, bound to Keith with his swollen knot, but some tension left him when Keith finally responded again.  
Once that first knot dies down, Keith demanded another. And another. Lotor ordered a break after that, but Keith refused to leave the bench, so Lotor fed him while he was still bound and Keith loved it.  
Then, they continued. And only later, when his heat finally died down in the late afternoon to evening, did Keith realize just how loud he must have been. He was hoarse, and the servants that came to clean up looked at them both with big eyes. He couldn’t remember how many time he had taken Lotor’s knot. He would probably be sore. But he felt so, so good, and when he looked up at his husband, who carried him from the bench to their bed, he knew that he loved Lotor. He had cared for him a long time, but now he knew, this was full-on, deep love. He trusted his husband with everything, he knew his husband would always be there for him. And he loved hi, deeply, he would try to move mountains if it was what Lotor wanted. 

They slept late the next morning, and talked about the heat. Lotor had managed to keep track and told him that he had take his knot 14 times. Keith was almost embarrassed. But Lotor smiled, and kissed him, and told him that he would always fuck Keith on the bench, if that was really what he wanted. So Keith told his husband that he loved him.  
Lotor’s eyes widened. Then he kissed Keith, deeply, again and again. „I love you too, my husband, my darling, my love. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you so much.“  
They held onto each other, overcome with their emotions, and only thought to get up in the afternoon, when Lotor was asked to meet with a council on urgent affairs. Keith got up as well, but he really was sore. He walked gingerly, meeting some of the Ladies who loved to spend their days with needlework. Keith had absolutely no aptitude for that, but it was a seated occupation and nobody minded him sitting among the women, who gossiped in a most friendly manner. 

Their first anniversary was fast approaching now, and several letters from Voltrona had arrived, asking if a visit and a feast to celebrate the treaty and peace would be possible. Keith spoke of it with Lotor, and they agreed to do it. They set a date after Keith’s next heat, so there would be no distractions, and the preparations went well. Even the old guard had gotten used to peace slowly, within the last year, so they put up less of a fight to be included in a peace festival. 

Keith put his learned skills of managing a court to good use with the feast, and since he was the only one at the Galra court who knew the details of the Voltrona guests, he really was the only option. Seating arrangements, food aversions, talking to the kitchens and the servants and the other ladies… looking back on the last year, he sometimes surprised himself how much his life had changed, and he didn’t resent it one bit. One look at his beloved husband was worth more than any day in his previous life. When word came that Shiro would come as part of the Voltrona delegation, accompanied by his omega husband Curtis, Keith didn’t bat an eye. His youthful crush on Shiro was of the past, he had Lotor. 

Just as the preparations started to be hands-on, and furniture needed to be moved and supplies stored and rooms aired out for the guests, Keith got sick. It started in the morning, when he felt nauseous. Id died down by lunch, but the next morning, he was nauseous again. On the third day, he went to the healers. He needed to work on the feast, check if all the arrangements were done correctly, he couldn’t become sick now. 

The healer examined him, then he called a colleague, the specialist on pregnancies and childbirth that Keith had last seen many months ago. They whispered amongst themselves, and suddenly, it clicked for Keith.  
„I’m pregnant, isn’t it?“  
The healers looked up at him when he spoke, and then the specialist nodded „It seems like it, prince consort. The nausea is a common early sign. When is your next heat due?“ Keith thought back, then said: „In 4 to 6 days.“ The healers nodded. „If your have not had a heat within the next 10 days, it most certainly is a pregnancy.“  
Keith was dumb-struck when he understood what that meant. By the time the feast started, he would know for sure. And it was very, very possible that finally, after a year, his womb was no longer empty, but he carried Lotor’s pup. 

He sought out Lotor right after leaving the healers’ quarters. Lotor was outside on the sparring grounds, and when he saw his husband approach, he abandoned his opponent and came to Keith. „Is something urgent, my love?“, he asked with concern.  
„I… I might be pregnant, beloved! The nausea, it could be a signs. We’ll know for sure within the week, because it my heat won’t come, it’s because my womb is no longer empty but with you pup!“  
Lotor looked at Keith with wide eyes, then he embraced him and spun him in a circle.  
„We are to be parents? Finally?“  
„We won’t know for sure, but I think I can feel it! It’s different, I’ve never felt like this before.“  
Lotor kissed him, and they laughed together. 

Keith went to the ind-healer the next day.  
„Thank you for helping him, and helping me. I… I might finally carry his pup, and I’m sure, without your help, we might never have gotten there. He laughs a lot more, now. So, thank you.“  
The mind healer smiled, then he took Keith’s hand. „Dear prince consort Keith, I want you to know and understand one thing: I know that people believe that the womb is the problem if a pup won’t come. But please, remember: The seed needs to be healthy just as much as the womb. And I have met many a man who was hurt in his mind, and it hurts their fertility just as much as a physical wound. So, please teach your pup and any that might come after it that both parents need to be healthy. Your husband was hurt very much by the things his father did, and it may well be that his healing has finally blessed you. I will stay for as long as you will have me - and some others of the court have started to approach me. But if I leave, remember our lessons, and teach them to your pups.“  
Keith nodded, and thanked the man again. 

The week passed, and Keith woke up every day with that nausea in his belly, but no heat. When the 10 days had passed, the feast was upon them. The guests arrived, one by one, and Keith greeted Queen Allura, the paladins and other members of the Voltrona court. Lotor greeted them at Keith’s side, and when they sat down at the tables, Queen Allura whispered to him that she was glad that they were so happy. 

When it came to Lotor to hold his speech in honor of the peace, Keith stood up with him.  
„Dear guests, my good people, noble and lowborn alike. One year ago, we decided to end a war that had cost both of out kingdoms greatly. To seal that treaty, my beloved omega husband Keith and I were wed. We didn’t know each other then, had barely met to speak a few words. But with every word we spoke, we grew closer, and we learned to love. I have high hopes, that with continued talks between our countries we will all grow closer, and war will be far from our minds forever. For now, though, we also want to announce that the highest hope for peace is upon us: My beloved prince consort has conceived, in his womb he carries my pup. Please, a toast to the future heir of Galra!“

Cheers went up all around, and when they sat back down, everyone around them congratulated them in person. Keith saw the dumbfounded looks on the faces of some of the old guard - they probably had thought that he really was infertile. But with the racket he had made upon his last heat, nobody could infer that it wasn’t Lotor’s pup, and finally, finally the peace would be so much more secure. Keith toasted again and again, though he had denied every glass of wine or spirits, and now that his condition was public, nobody looked at him in askance at that. 

He felt great. He loved his husband, and he would love his pup, and all the pups that would follow. And who would get lo live in peace between Galra and Voltrona.


End file.
